# 1980–81 Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team represented Saint Joseph's University as a member of the East Coast Conference during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by 3rd-year head coach Jim Lynam, the Hawks finished with an overall record of 25–8 (9–2 in ECC play). Saint Joseph's won the ECC tournament, and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 9 seed in the Mideast region. The team defeated No. 8 seed Creighton, No. 1 seed DePaul, and No. 5 seed Boston College to reach the Elite Eight. The Hawks fell to No. 3 seed and eventual National champion Indiana in the regional final – a game that was played on the Hoosiers' home court.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 30, 1980* | | Scranton | W 76–62 | 1–0 | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (1,765) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 2, 1980* | | at Rider | W 71–55 | 2–0 | Alumni Gymnasium (2,200) Lawrenceville, New Jersey |
| Dec 6, 1980* | | West Chester | W 83–60 | 3–0 | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (1,052) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 9, 1980* | | at Princeton | W 51–50 $^{OT}$ | 4–0 | Jadwin Gymnasium (2,210) Princeton, New Jersey |
| Dec 11, 1980* | | at Cornell | W 42–39 | 5–0 | Barton Hall (1,360) Ithaca, New York |
| Dec 13, 1980* | | Jacksonville | W 45–40 | 6–0 | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (4,012) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 27, 1980* | | at Michigan State | L 67–71 | 6–1 | Jenison Field House (6,953) East Lansing, Michigan |
| Dec 29, 1980* | | vs. Bowling Green State | W 87–76 | 7–1 | Cole Fieldhouse (13,211) College Park, Maryland |
| Dec 30, 1980* | | at No. 9 Maryland | L 57–74 | 7–2 | Cole Fieldhouse (13,779) College Park, Maryland |
| Jan 3, 1981* | | Saint Francis (PA) | W 92–72 | 8–2 | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (1,722) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 7, 1981 | | at Bucknell | W 66–56 | 9–2 (1–0) | (2,000) |
| Jan 10, 1981* | | at Jacksonville | W 44–42 | 10–2 | (4,629) |
| Jan 13, 1981 | | at Lafayette | W 59–41 | 11–2 (2–0) | (2,500) |
| Jan 20, 1981 | | at Delaware | W 67–56 | 12–2 (3–0) | (894) |
| Jan 24, 1981* | | UNC Charlotte | W 72–65 | 13–2 | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (8,558) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 28, 1981* | | Penn | W 63–61 | 14–2 | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (6,990) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 31, 1981 | | La Salle | L 56–58 | 14–3 (3–1) | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (9,208) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 2, 1981* | | Albright | W 88–56 | 15–3 | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (746) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 6, 1981* | | vs. No. 10 North Carolina North-South Doubleheaders | L 64–87 | 15–4 | (10,782) Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Feb 7, 1981* | | vs. NC State | L 42–47 | 15–5 | Reynolds Coliseum (11,198) Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Feb 11, 1981 | | vs. Drexel | W 94–72 | 16–5 (4–1) | Palestra (4,412) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 14, 1981 | | vs. Temple | W 61–58 | 17–5 (5–1) | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (7,151) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 16, 1981 | | Lehigh | W 74–47 | 18–5 (7–1) | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (856) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| ECC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1981* | | Temple Quarterfinals | W 60–55 | 20–7 | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 7, 1981* | | vs. Lafayette Semifinals | W 73–63 | 21–7 | The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 8, 1981* | | vs. American Championship game | W 63–60 | 22–7 | The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1981* | (9 ME) | vs. (8 ME) Creighton First round | W 59–57 | 23–7 | University of Dayton Arena Dayton, Ohio |
| Mar 14, 1981* | (9 ME) | vs. (1 ME) No. 1 DePaul Second round | W 49–48 | 24–7 | University of Dayton Arena Dayton, Ohio |
| Mar 20, 1981* | (9 ME) | vs. (5 ME) Boston College Mideast Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 42–41 | 25–7 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| Mar 22, 1981* | (9 ME) | vs. (3 ME) No. 9 Indiana Mideast Regional Final – Elite Eight | L 46–78 | 25–8 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. ||||||